


Olympic Athlete Gets Engaged to Boyfriend on Wrestling Mat

by smooth_operaptor



Series: we're gonna need a bigger boat [2]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: 2016 Chicago Summer Olympics, Alternate Universe - Olympics, Chad wrestles there, Declarations Of Love, London 2012 never happened, M/M, that rugby couple inspired me, the outcome is the same tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-08 02:52:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7740598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smooth_operaptor/pseuds/smooth_operaptor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'I wanted to show people that love wins': amateur wrestler Chad Gable was proposed to by his boyfriend Jason Jordan after match</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. +++ Breaking News +++

**Author's Note:**

> So hey, I'm back.  
> Not much to say but that I still love these two :)  
> First chapter is an adapted news report but the next will be straight up prose that wrote myself (when I get to it)!  
> Thank you all for reading this and have a nice day~

## Chicago 2016: American wrestler accepts surprise on-pitch proposal after olympic 1/8 final

**American amateur wrestler Chad Gable has been surprised with an on-pitch wedding proposal following Cuban Pablo Shorey's win in the Men's Greco-Roman 84 kg wrestling competition at Chicago's United Center.**

Gable's partner of one year, 27-year-old Jason Jordan, walked onto the pitch as the crowd were dispersing following the match, and popped the question.

Jordan, who is a manager at the venue, grabbed a microphone and delivered an emotional speech before embracing his partner to the cheers of onlookers, the BBC reported.

"I know wrestling people are amazing and they would embrace it," Jordan told reporters.

> "He is the love of my life."

The couple live in Orlando, Florida, where Gable has been focussing on training for the Olympic event.

Gable was a Dave Schultz Memorial International Champion and a U.S. Open Champion before he was selected for the USA's Olympic team.

"As soon as I knew he was in the squad I thought I have to make this special," Jordan told the BBC.

Twitter erupted with congratulations from around the world for the newly minted couple, with well-wishers tweeting photos, rainbows and hearts.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in the United States since 2015.

Chad Gable beat Keitani Graham 7-0 to finish in ninth place overall in the final standing.  



	2. Make it special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason is on a mission of love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaack!!!  
> Split this part in two so I have some more time to work on the speech ^^
> 
> Boy howdy, working 9 hours a day is exhausting. Plus, I had to cram for my theoretical driver's exam (is that what you call it in English?) I passed!!!!
> 
> I kind of pictured the whole NXT gang working as a small wrestling school and being this adorable tight-knit family. Also it was somehow rly hard to decide with whom American Alpha would be good friends? There's no definite crowd they hang with and I know next to nothing abt behind the scenes stuff...so...
> 
> trying to figure out how many times I can write 'I love you' in one fic
> 
> (kinda wanna write some smut for a fourth chapter, kinda wanna not do that and blush tons)  
> ((that reminds me, I saved a smol birb yesterday! it was in the building. my boss is scared of fluttery things so I became an unforeseen hero))  
> (((call me the BIRD MASTER, master of the birds)))  
> ((((also, saved as a word looks weird, anyone rly sure it isn't sove or smth?))))
> 
> Thank you for reading this, I appreciate it!
> 
> Have a nice day~

Jason stares at the two people in front of him on the screen.

Half of his mind focuses on the match. Chad fights like his life depends on it, but the other guy has the edge over him, he notes. Jason is desperate to see Chad win; this is what he worked for, this is the moment they both worked towards for so long. Chad deserves this win.

There is something else, though.

Today's the day. By _god_ , is he nervous.

Jason doesn't doubt his decision to marry Chad, he just worries the proposal is gonna suck.

Anxiety turns to trepidation.

Someone grabs his hand. He looks at it, then up at Bayley's face. She knows about his plans, their whole group of friends knows. When they heard he got a job at the Olympics, they did everything in their power to come too. They love the gossip.

Some of them are actual volunteers, they handle the equipment and direct people to their seats. Others, like Bayley, came for "emotional support" or "to have a good laugh when Gable's face gets smashed in" like Dash and Dawson put it. (They are very old school in the way they show their emotions.)

The four of them sit far in the back, overlooking the whole arena. He's supposed to watch out for any kind of trouble, but things are running smoothly today.

Bayley lays a hand on his shoulder.

"No need to be scared, you'll both do great. Chad's gonna win and you're gonna ace this proposal. Focus on your breathing. Good. Let me ask you something. Do you love him?"

"I do. I do love him.", he says with a smile. He hears a sniffle from his other side, but when he turns to look, Scott just glares at him.

"Then there's nothing that can go wrong", Bayley cheers.

And Chad loses.

A sting of sympathy cuts through the nervousness but it's replaced by determination. Chad lost, all the more reason to make him happy.

He stands up abruptly. This is it. Dash and Scott each clap him on the shoulder serveral times and even grumble something that could be mistaken for encouragement. Bayley gives him a quick hug to send him off. "Go get your boy!", Dash shouts after him.

Jason awkwardly makes his way down the row of seats - what was he thinking, sitting so far away from Chad? He steps on a few toes here and there and makes intimate contact with a lot of unwelcoming knees until finally, he reaches the stairs in the middle of the bleachers.

So. _Many. **People.**_

He pushes through the crowd towards his boyfriend. Chad honestly seems a little lost, standing there alone on the mat, uncharacteristically small. It hurts to see him like that. Jason has to get to him before the press comes and sweeps Chad away.

Why is everyone so slow?? Don't they care that he's on a mission of love?

Jason feels more irritated by the second. Still, he keeps a friendly smile tight on his face and mumbles a sincere-sounding apology here and there - he's a manager here, after all. Gotta keep the people happy. But why, oh why do there have to be so many of them?

This is taking too long, he'd be missing his chance!

"Hey Cass! Help JJ, he isn't doin' well!" a voice calls from behind him. Big Cass gets up from his seat next to him and just like that, Jason's fortunes change.

With Big Cass wading through the masses in front of him, it is a matter of a few moments until Jason is on the ground. He turns around and gives a thumbs up to Enzo, who is celebrating his great idea with a victory dance in the middle of the stairs.

Jason makes a beeline for Chad, who only just collected himself enough to stop fiddling with his singlet and take in his surroundings. He's dejected, but not completely down, Jason notices. He probably expected this after his loss in the first round. Still, this cannot stand.

Someone (it might be one of the Hype Bros) hands him a microphone. He doesn't see their face, but he'll try to remember and thank them later. Jason is zeroed in on Chad.

The crowd is thinner here on the field - some of the audience have come down, but not many. Jason is fifty feet away from Chad when they finally make eye-contact.

Chad seems surprised, he definitively wasn't expecting to see Jason so soon. Normally, Jason would have given him the time to be interviewed and at least shower. But of course today isn't normal. He has to make this special.


	3. the Payoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you've been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup alright, this is it :)
> 
> It'd be cool if y'all could leave some feedback, I rly don't know if this chapter is Too Much™ ?
> 
> Thanks to everyone who reads this and have a nice day~

"Everyone! Please calm down because I have something to say! This is very important to me.

"First of all, congrats to Pablo, you won fair and square. Good luck in the next round, man. But this isn't about you."

Jason takes a deep breath.

"Chad.

"Chad, I love you."

A respectful circle has formed around them. The stream of people has reversed and more and more of them come and fill up the pitch. This is good.

"Chad.  
"I'm so proud of you. You lost, and that sucks, but you gave it all you had. You know, I admire that a lot about you. You never half-ass anything. You full-ass everything, all the time. I love you for that. I--"

Oh no. He can't break now, not this early into his grand speech! _Keep it together, man!_ This will be a very special moment for them and he won't ruin this just because he got choked up. He practiced this, dammit! He spent hours alone in front of a mirror. Enzo wrote him tons of jokes for when things got too awkward. Bayley showed him a few breathing exercises. Scott sat him down once and explained poker faces to him for twenty minutes. He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and squares his shoulders. Now, to defuse this situation...

"Um, I mean I like your butt."

Nailed it. People laugh and Chad blushes. Jason's right on track again with the speech. He clenches one hand into a fist in his pocket and tightens his grip on the mic with the other. He has to keep his emotions in check for the next part.

"That's not even in my top 100 list of reasons why I love you, though. Hmm. I love that you have a catchphrase that's a pun on your name. It's 'Ready. Willing. And Gable' for you folks who don't know what I'm talking about." Their friends start to holler and hoot at that, many of them frantically waving familiar towels. Jason and Chad grin at each other for a moment.

"Yeah, that's right. These towels you see there? Those are Chad's. He made them himself. This guy is a one-man marketing-machine; it's ridiculous. And you know what he uses that for? As soon as we met, he tried to ask me out. For a few weeks, there were towels everywhere. Chad, you are very very determined, and I love you."

He pauses to give the crowd some time to cheer.

"One time, you said you could do all push-ups. Every single one.

"When we don't see each other for a few days because of work, you always call before bed to tell me about the dogs you petted that day and it only makes me miss you more.

"There is nothing that tastes better than the food we cook together on weekends.

"You honestly tried to convince me that I become 80 percent stronger when I take my shirt off.

"I love your smile.

"I can have the best 3 am conversations with you when neither of us can sleep.

"You also brought out this weirdly poetic side in me that I never knew I had and every time I rhyme you get super giddy.

"I can't remember if you ever said 'cool', Chad. Everything is 'so sick'. It's killing me.

"...A year ago, when same-sex marriage was legalized in the US, you took me and all our colleagues to celebrate. Your joy was contagious. That night you made me realize - and this is something I want everyone listening to know and understand - that love always wins. I finally had the courage to come out to my parents. When we started dating a couple weeks later, you charmed the pants off of my whole family."

There are gasps from the audience and the crescendo of coos picks up big time. Still not a single negative reaction. Nice.

Jason pulls his other hand out of his pocket and tries to steady the trembling microphone. He closes the last bit of distance between him and Chad. Chad holds out one hand and they link their fingers together on instinct. Both of them are crying by now. Chad didn't know much about that last bit. To him, Jason just seemed a lot more open to his advances all of a sudden. They have a lot to talk about later.

Jason has given up on trying to hold back and focuses on making it to the end. These words have to get out.

"I would say that we're soulmates, that we were obviously made for each other, that you are my better half. I love you, but listen: we are none of those things. We are so much more.

"At first, love is a feeling. It's a deep, chemical and mental reaction in your body. But everything else? That's a choice. We choose each other, again and again, against all odds and circumstances. Together, we become better versions of ourselves. That's how I see it.

"I would have been just fine on my own. I could have been happy. The point is- shit, excuse me. The point is, with you, life is so much more. You inspire me to chase my dreams, you've believed in me from the start, you get me like few others do... and - this is getting too sappy, I can't do this--

"Chad. I just want to tell you: I love you. So much. I'll always be there for you too. And I believe with all my heart, no wait, I _know_ you're the One.

"This is the end of the Olympics for you but it's only just the beginning for us.

"So. Chad Gable."

Jason gently pulls his hand back from Chad and slides it in his pocket. The tiny velvet box is still there waiting for him, thank god. In one smooth motion, he pulls it out, opens it and drops on one knee in front of Chad in his sweaty singlet, right there on the wrestling mat, with their friends and families and a huge crowd watching. Everyone is silent, holding their breath for the big moment. Jason is choking up, he has to keep this short.

"Will you marry me?"

He sets the mic aside and takes the ring out of the box. It's a thin but sturdy silver band, one that has been in his family for ages. His parents insisted he'd take it.

"Yes", Chad whispers, the word soaked with exhilaration and incredulity. No one can hear it but Jason. This moment is only for them.

A slow smile spreads on Jasons face, like he's a magician about to wow someone with a magic trick. He reaches for Chad's hand and slides the ring on. They stare at it for a moment, then each other. This is really happening. They did it.

Chad offers him his other hand and pulls him up into a hug. Jason tilts his head until their foreheads touch and hangs on for dear life. Chad begins to stroke his back in small circles and presses Jasons head against his shoulder with the other hand. It's awkward, Jason is a smidge too tall for this, but he breathes in deep and relaxes.

People around them are ooh-ing and ahh-ing, some are crying, some are laughing, most of them are filming and taking pictures. It's a spectacle, it's special, he didn't screw it up and most importantly, Chad is by his side.


End file.
